3. Don´t know about the wheel. It has been stopped because the people from the so called "Wirtschaftshof"(I think there´s a university next to it too) don´t agree that the wheel will be built so near to the building.....

I'm currently living and working in Berlin, and will be for the next 3 weeks. I've made a lot of construction photo's in the last few days, but unfortunately I will not be able to upload the pics from my hotel here in Berlin. So you all will have to wait to see the pics untill I'm back in the Netherlands (which will be the 16th of February). I took pictures from well-known projects like the American Ambessy and the demolishion of the Pallast der Republik, but also from little-known residential projects in the eastern part of Berlin.

The backside of the American Ambessy (the side of the Jewish Memorial) looks very disappointing to me (I haven't walked past the front side of the building though).

If anyone has requests for pictures of building projects in Berlin, please let me know and I will try to go there. But as I said, I will not be able to post them until the 16th of February.

Thanks you guys! Sorry for being a whiny pain in the ass. Other cities just have much more active posters here on SSC than Berlin does. I'm from Baltimore and the Baltimore posters here on SSC are so active that I think I've been spoiled by that.

1. The US Embassy: Thanks for the pics! I don't think it looks that bad.

2. The East Side Gallery: This is something that completely perplexes me! I simply cannot understand why Berlin does not seem to notice the state of disrepair it's in, or the importance of getting it restored ASAP. Let me tell you something as a foreigner myself, when people around the world who are not from Germany think of Berlin, they think of the Berlin Wall. When they come to Berlin, guaranteed they will be looking for the Berlin Wall. It also perplexes me that dklicious just asked me what exactly I mean as if he/she doesn't see what is wrong with it! Have you been there?? I was there in Sept. 2006 and it looks like crap! It is crumbling, the paint is coming off, there is graffiti all over it, you can barely see some of the paintings, it looks like something in the worst and most neglected neighborhood of Detroit, need I go on? It's embarrassing. The last I heard, which I think was a year ago, was that there was a group pushing to have it restored but Berlin couldn't afford it. How expensive can restoring a concrete wall be??!! The article said that restoration would mean removing the coroded outer layer, getting all the original artists back to redo their paintings, and I think putting some kind of protective coating on it. Isn't the cost of this worth it??? It's like Paris not taking care of the Eiffel Tower, or New York letting the Statue of Liberty fall into disrepair. I would say even pay guards to watch over it 24/7 to discourage vandals. Whatever it takes.

Darryl,
it's been a while since I've been there the last time.
You're right about the deadbeat condition of the East Side Gallery.
I agree on the opinion that the Berlin Wall needs some decent restoration process.
You just gotta know that Berlin is poor as..
Anyway, there is an article from 28/07/07, which basically says the following things:
- Berlin's senate approved 1,3 million € for the inside renovation
- old artists, which painted the majority of the East Side Gallery, are probably going
to repaint the wall, but the costs for those artists will be approx. 2 million € more.
- there is no investor for those 2 million €, so the project is going to need more donations
- the area is part of the Mediaspree project, the wall shall adjoin to a park and a new promenade

Darryl,
it's been a while since I've been there the last time.
You're right about the deadbeat condition of the East Side Gallery.
I agree on the opinion that the Berlin Wall needs some decent restoration process.
You just gotta know that Berlin is poor as..
Anyway, there is an article from 28/07/07, which basically says the following things:
- Berlin's senate approved 1,3 million € for the inside renovation
- old artists, which painted the majority of the East Side Gallery, are probably going
to repaint the wall, but the costs for those artists will be approx. 2 million € more.
- there is no investor for those 2 million €, so the project is going to need more donations
- the area is part of the Mediaspree project, the wall shall adjoin to a park and a new promenade

2. The East Side Gallery: This is something that completely perplexes me! I simply cannot understand why Berlin does not seem to notice the state of disrepair it's in, or the importance of getting it restored ASAP. Let me tell you something as a foreigner myself, when people around the world who are not from Germany think of Berlin, they think of the Berlin Wall. When they come to Berlin, guaranteed they will be looking for the Berlin Wall. It also perplexes me that dklicious just asked me what exactly I mean as if he/she doesn't see what is wrong with it! Have you been there?? I was there in Sept. 2006 and it looks like crap! It is crumbling, the paint is coming off, there is graffiti all over it, you can barely see some of the paintings, it looks like something in the worst and most neglected neighborhood of Detroit, need I go on? It's embarrassing. The last I heard, which I think was a year ago, was that there was a group pushing to have it restored but Berlin couldn't afford it. How expensive can restoring a concrete wall be??!! The article said that restoration would mean removing the coroded outer layer, getting all the original artists back to redo their paintings, and I think putting some kind of protective coating on it. Isn't the cost of this worth it??? It's like Paris not taking care of the Eiffel Tower, or New York letting the Statue of Liberty fall into disrepair. I would say even pay guards to watch over it 24/7 to discourage vandals. Whatever it takes.

That's a very good point. You know, I think many Germans are quite happy with it in a terrible state. One thing I noticed about Germans is that many don't seem to be too bothered by graffiti. It's a weird thought, but I really believe it's true.

Anyway, I hope something is done about it because it is in a terrible state.

Wow, thats alot of ugly buildings. It reminds me of the structures from the 60's and 70's. They lack aesthetic design. Why not design more classic structures with touches of modern instead of building glass boxes? Are there any reconstructions going on in Berlin?

__________________
Peter- "Geesh, Meg is in there taking a nap under water!".

Great project as well. Love those two (Fehrbelliner and Palais Kolle Belle).

Webcam:

Sketches:

More of this, please.

Parkquartier Chausseestraße
Construction work has started a few days ago.

Other projects currently U/C

BBI Airport
Rossi Ruin
Spreedreieck

But all of them should be known to you (already posted in this thread).

Max Reinhardt Haus,Am Zirkus'

Different renderings, but this seems to be the current one.
Construction will start in autumn 2008.

Hackesches QuartierHackescher Markt Süd

Renderings:
(c) IVG Development GmbH

ZoofensterCharlottenburg-Wilmersdorf

This project has been pushed around for almost 15 years now.
Finally, this time with an investor from Dubai, construction work shall begin in 2008.
This month the investor wants to present his plans with the building.

Height: 118 meters

No one knows if this is still the current rendering, but maybe there will be
a new design for this project. Let's wait until the End of February and see what will happen.